15 Traveling Tips You Must Know Before Traveling Overseas

Traveling could be exciting or frustrating depending on traveling journey you’ve experienced. However, if you are fully prepared for your traveling, then everything should be more enjoyable than miserable. Here are 15 useful traveling tips you must know before traveling overseas. I advise you to go over all of them before you plan your traveling journey. You’ll be surprised how easy to neglect some of these traveling tips, and how important they are for ensuring a successful and enjoyable journey.
Avoid wearing anything that contains metal when traveling through the security checkpoint. Things such as clothing, jewelry, or other accessories that contain metal should be avoided.
 
A valid passport is recognized internationally as a travel document. Some countries requires a visa to access. If you need a visa, apply two months ahead of time to avoid paying high-fees for emergency situation.
 
If you travel with a child who has your custody, make sure you have a passport for that child as well. If the child is not yours, make sure you bring along a signed, notarized document from the parent(s).
 
Be familiarized yourself with the destination. Find out its culture, food, laws, and mostly avoid known dangers.
 
Take precautions to avoid being a target of crime. If you become a victim of crime, contact consular officer to solve the problem.
 
Avoid to travel to the country that your own country has no diplomatic relation with.
 
Be familiarized yourself with conditions at destination that might affect your health. Make sure you check your overseas medical insurance coverage. It may not cover you overseas. If you plan to stay long, you may consider to buy a short-term policy to cover you there.
 
Consult your doctor before you bring medications or fill prescriptions. Carry a letter from your physician if necessary. Always put your medications in your carry-on bag for easy access.
 
For people who wear glasses/contact lens, it is advice to take an extra pair of glasses or take disposable contact lens with you. Always put your glasses or contact lens in your easy-access bag.
 
Make sure you have a photocopy of your passport, credit cards, or any other import items with you while traveling. Keep one set of these copies at home.
 
If you travel with your pet, find out ahead of time to see whether you are allowed to take your pet with you. If you are allowed, get some tips of traveling with your pet from your vet.
 
Disabled travelers have to find out the standards of accessibility in certain countries. When making reservations, inform the travel agent about your disability and may request a wheelchair be brought to the gate upon your arrival.
 
For people who adopt a child oversea, you need to obtain an immigration visa for that child in the country of adoption.
 
Don’t carry too much cash with you for your trip, but make sure you have enough money in case of an emergency. Avoid putting all your money in one place.
 
Find out what items you can or cannot bring back with you upon returning to your home country.
In short, one must plan well for traveling overseas. Knowing the above 15 traveling tips before traveling overseas may have saved you tons of headaches. Your traveling journey may bring you more memorial joys than unpleasing experience.

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Make Finding a Property Management Company Easier on Yourself by Asking the Right Questions – Part 2

This is part 2 of a 4 part series where we have outlined important questions to ask a property management company before hiring them.Series 1 Companies Credentials
Series 2 Property Management Services
Series 3 Property Management Fees
Series 4 Tenant Screening ProcessProperty management companies come in all sizes, capabilities and expertise. Just because one works for one investor does not necessarily mean they will work for you. Below we have outlined some important questions to ask a company during your initial interview process regarding services they provide. Their answers to these questions will give insight into their business capabilities and can provide you with an understanding of the type of services they offer which are important to you.Series 2 – Property Management ServicesProperties they manage – Property management companies are as different as car dealerships are to each other. For example, a Mercedes dealership will have the best inventory and the most knowledge of the latest selection of new Mercedes. You could visit the Toyota dealership in your neighborhood, but chances are you will not find what you are looking for. Of course, they would love your business and will try and talk you into why a Toyota is a better fit for you than a Mercedes.Same with a property manager, they are not created equal when it comes down to their property portfolios. You need to ask what types of property they manage and make sure your type of property is one they manage. If you own a single family home, a company that manages mostly large apartment buildings or commercial property would not be a good match. In this case, your best match would be a company that has a minimum 50% or greater of single family homes in their rental pool.Some companies manage all types of investment properties…single family homes, apartments, commercial and community associations, but chances are they hold a specialty in one or two areas.Inspections – A thorough property inspection should never be overlooked by a property management company. A property inspection needs to be conducted upon tenant move-in and at move-out. A property inspection can range from drive-bys, a walk-through or a video inspection. If disagreements arise between tenant and manager as to items missing or damaged, actual documentation from the move-in inspection and pictures of before and after hold validity versus a verbal agreement.A video inspection of the interior as well as the exterior of property is the best option. Still pictures are good, but sometimes do not capture all areas of property. The video will not only capture all areas, but is easily interpreted and validated as the subject property. A signed checklist at move-in from tenant validates that tenant concurs with the inspection findings.Maintenance – When it comes time to performing maintenance or repair work to their rental properties some property management companies have their own in-house maintenance personnel. These are usually employees of the company and are paid a salary through the company. The costs or hourly rate of any maintenance or repair work that is required will be dictated by the management company itself.On the other hand, the management company may decide to outsource all or some maintenance work to outside vendors. These vendors could range from a handyman, specialized tradesman such as a plumber or a large facility that performs all types of maintenance work.There are pros and cons to both and I do not advocate one over the other but will outline a few points of interest:In-house MaintenancePros:
- More readily available, since they work within the management company
- Direct communication with management company and their policies
- More intimate with property…they are the “one” contact and know the history of your propertyCons:
- May be more of a “jack of all trades” versus being specialized in a certain field and having the appropriate licenses
- May not be as determined to perform or finish maintenance work in a timely manner as he/she is not being paid based on the job. Whether he/she finishes in 2 hours or 8 hours, its all the same.
- If in-house maintenance crew is not available, either the repair work waits or the company will need to search for a outside vendor on short noticeOutsourcing MaintenancePros:
- This allows the property management company the luxury of competitive bidding among vendors, which could equate to lower costs
- Vendors will be eager to sign contracts with a property management company that can bring stable business to them, and as a result will most likely perform quality work in a timely manner
- Most vendors will be specialized tradesman carrying all required licenses, insurance and being bondedCons:
- Some property management companies will add a surcharge or mark-up above the actual cost of any repair work to cover their time in acquiring these bids.
- If work was not completed properly, it may be difficult to get the vendor back on the job.Another option is coordinating all maintenance work yourself. This may work for you if you have reliable contractors you have work with and are dependable. You can probably save yourself some money but this will involve a bit of your time on your part.Accounting – Most full service property management company will offer as a customary service some type of accounting procedure. This usually comes in the form of a monthly paper statement itemizing all income and expenses funneled through the management company on your property for that particular month. It will show rental income and any expenses such as management fees, repair costs, lawn care service, advertising charges, lease renewal fees and possibly utility charges. The monies owed the owner also referred to as the net amount should be clearly spelled out on this statement. The monthly statements are usually mailed every month to the owner along with a deposit check for the net amount. You should also be provided with a end year statement along with a 1099 for tax purposes.With the advancement of online technology many management companies are now offering their owners the ability to view and print their monthly statements via the company’s’ website or online portal. These portals have the ability to store other documents such as the management contract, vendor invoices, pictures of property, inspection reports etc…all at your fingertips.Another great advantage of working with a savvy property management company is their ability to setup automatic deposit of your monthly checks. No more waiting for the postal service, your deposit checks can be deposited directly into your bank account. Chances are they will also have the ability to setup automatic debit of tenants rent from either a checking account or credit card.
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Are You A Lifestyle Brand?

On the simpler side of things lifestyle brands are brands that influence the aspirations and ideas of a culture or group by catering to their values and beliefs.

Lifestyle brands should be strategically developed by way of supreme marketing strategies and concepts. To identify with the target audience you’ll want to concentrate on ways to show them the uniqueness of your product and why they should care about it. For instance how likely are you to purchase a t-shirt from the guy spamming your inbox harassing you about their new line of product which inevitably ends up being some lame slogan he’s printed on a Hanes t-shirt and calls it the newest lifestyle brand. The main point here is that is best to spend time building a brand rather than throwing it together without thinking about its purpose.

Face it, you can’t just create a new company and call it a brand for the sake of hoping it will resonate with a target audience. It needs to have some type of meaning or identity. If it were that simple, you could purchase some clear bottles and print out labels for your new line of: Aqua Pure Water. Tagging it as the latest lifestyle brand of product but in reality, it doesn’t have any mutual connection with anyone, let alone the target audience. You need to spend time generating interest and inviting those who’re interested in being involved.

To compete as lifestyle brand marketing strategies must be strong enough to capture the target market, evoke emotion on their values and beliefs and then influence them into action. Whether its to purchase you’re latest merchandise, sign-up for a newsletter or cast a vote in your favor, brand appeal is a key component to lifestyle branding.

So how do you appeal to them?

1. Attack the five senses. Give them more than one way to experience your brand. People usually rely on the visual appeal of a product, but what if you’re able to offer other ways to appeal through the senses. This is likely to leave a longer lasting impression and can be implemented through promo tours, product demonstrations or launch events.

2. Be exactly what you say you are. If you’re offering up a new line of exclusive women’s wristwatches for a small niche group, be exclusive. Don’t worry about the other boat’s captain – float your own boat. Many times companies eager to become a lifestyle brand get caught up in the trickery from what other companies are doing because their target may be a larger marketshare. Go with your own vision and offer what you’re able to.

3. Determine your goals. Is your vision to get all the local high school track teams wearing your new line of training shoes? Has your restaurant created a new signature drink and you want to get people talking about it? Whatever the case make sure the goals of the brand are well defined so you’ll know what you want to accomplish. Once that’s determined, you can segment a target audience and start with marketing strategies to grab their attention.

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